Denver, CO— WildEarth Guardians, the Powder
River Basin Resource Council, and the Sierra Club issued a legal challenge
today to the U.S. Forest Service’s misguided decision to open nearly 2,000
acres of the Thunder Basin National Grassland to harmful coal strip
mining. The conservation
groups charged that the U.S. Forest Service’s consent to the South Porcupine
coal lease fails to protect air quality, groundwater aquifers, and wildlife;
ensure reclamation of strip-mined lands; and consider alternative options that
would lessen climate disruption.

Today’s lawsuit was filed on behalf of the conservation
groups by the University of Colorado Law School Natural Resources Clinic in the
U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado.

The South Porcupine Coal lease would expand Peabody Energy
Corporation’s North Antelope Rochelle strip mine -- one of the largest coal
mines in the world – onto the Thunder Basin National Grassland in Wyoming. The
U.S. Forest Service’s decision to consent to the lease green-lights the mining
of more than 400 million tons of coal, which could worsen the global climate
crisis by releasing more than 500 million metric tons of carbon pollution, if
burned to produce electricity

“The Forest Service sadly seems to be the leading the charge
to destroy the Earth’s climate,” said Jeremy Nichols, WildEarth Guardians’
Climate and Energy Program Director.
“Yet given the American public’s overwhelming support for clean energy,
the agency needs to rethink this dangerously political decision. Dirty energy has no place on our public
lands.”

Air quality surrounding the Powder River Basin strip mines
continues to decrease, with frequent toxic emissions related to coal blasting
and constant dust from mining activities. The groups are challenging the Forest
Service’s consent of the coal lease because it does not ensure compliance with
air quality standards.

“As a neighbor to the North Antelope coal mine, I have seen
dramatic impacts to my quality of life,” said L.J. Turner, a cattle and sheep
rancher and member of Powder River Basin Resource Council. “It seems like the
Forest Service is sacrificing our air and water quality just to pander to the
coal industry.”

The lawsuit comes as the coal industry is seeking to
dramatically expand mining in the Powder River Basin region of northeastern
Wyoming, the largest coal-producing region in the United States. In the last two years, 15 new coal leases
have been proposed for the Powder River Basin, yet domestic demand for coal is
shrinking. Mining companies, including Peabody, are looking to export more coal
to Asia, and it is likely that coal from the Grasslands will be a part of those
export plans.

“Peabody
Energy and other Big Coal companies are on notice: we will not tolerate dirty
coal mines destroying our public lands and hurting our health,” said Steve
Thomas, Sierra Club Western Regional Organizing Director. “The Forest
Service and other federal agencies must protect our water, air, and wild
lands.”

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Photos of the
North Antelope Rochelle Mine and photos of air quality problems in the Powder
River Basin are available for stories upon request.